Richard Newton walked from the football field to the locker room at the Alamodome in San Antonio, accepting back slaps and congratulations all along the way.
Against Texas in the Alamo Bowl, the veteran University of Washington running back received a season-best 11 carries and picked up 44 tough yards in relief of an injured Cam Davis and in support of starter Wayne Taulapapa while supplying a rugged inside rushing presence against a physical team.
In mid-step leaving the stadium, Newton nodded affirmatively when asked if he was returning for a sixth Husky season, no doubt encouraged by his heavier workload in the UW's 27-20 victory last Thursday over the Longhorns.
However, just five days following that encouraging postseason performance, Newton had to be more a little perplexed when word came on Tuesday the Huskies had added yet another ball carrier through the transfer portal — Mississippi State's Dillon Johnson, with his addition coming on top of the recent signing of Arizona State runner Daniyel Ngata.
Altogether, the UW now had nine scholarship backs on the roster as everyone readies to join in winter-conditioning drills, with Johnson's credentials likely putting him at the top of the list. Rest assured, Kalen DeBoer's staff is going to make every position highly competitive.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, in fact, was a little shocked after arriving that he had just a pair of healthy running backs to work with during spring football practice. That won't happen again.
"Let's shock the world!!!!" Johnson wrote on social media in announcing his decision, where the all-purpose back reportedly chose the Huskies over Auburn.
Seemingly a much less important position in the wide-open Grubb/DeBoer offense than, say, QB or wide receiver, the tailback position still holds a fairly prominent and demanding role in Montlake.
Coming in from Virginia, Taulapapa started a dozen Husky games and led the team in rushing by carrying the ball 140 times for 887 yards and 11 touchdowns, and catching 24 passes for 225 yards and another score, to finish off his college career. He was lauded for playing mistake-free.
Of the candidates lined up to replace him, the Huskies seem to have a little of everything except a guy who gets into the wide-open spaces on a regular basis, maybe hoping Johnson can be that guy.
Here's a breakdown of the impending UW running-back competition, ranking these guys in order how we see their beginning candidacy as the starter:
TALE OF THE HUSKY TAILBACKS
1. Dillon Johnson — The 6-foot, 215-pound SEC veteran brings 20 starts over three seasons and career stats not unlike Taulapapa's when the latter left the ACC. Johnson churned. out 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing from Mississippi State, averaging 5.2 yards per carry, and 149 receptions for an added 864 yards and a score. His long run for the Bulldogs was 40 yards. If there's a negative, his late coach Mike Leach memorably questioned Johnson's toughness after the player went into the transfer portal. He has a pair of seasons eligibility remaining.
2. Cameron Davis — In a back-up yet well-utilized role, Davis scored 13 touchdowns this past season, which ranked him fourth in the Pac-12 behind ASU's Xazavian Vallady (18), Oregon's Bo Nix (15) and UCLA's Zach Charbonnet (14). The 6-foot, 201-pound Davis started just one game in the process, and has three starts in 29 career outings. Over four seasons, he offers career totals of 209 carries for 903 yards and 15 scores rushing, averaging 4.3 yards per run, and 38 receptions for 278 yards. His long run is 40 yards. He has two seasons of eligibility left. The California native might be the fastest of the UW backs with 4.5-second speed over 40 yards.
3. Richard Newton — The old man of this group, he returns to the UW as a sixth-year senior and was the starter to open the 2021 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He has career totals of 224 carries for 971 yards and 14 TDs rushing and 12 catches for 119 yards and 2 scores. He also threw a 13-yard TD pass in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl. Newton has appeared in 26 games, starting 3 of them. While more of a power back, the 6-foot, 212-pound back has a long run of 54 yards against Arizona in 2020 for a touchdown.
4. Will Nixon — The Huskies took a Nebraska wide receiver and turned him into an all-purpose back this past season. A hard-nosed runner, this 5-foot-11, 192-pound player appeared in 11 UW games when he wasn't banged up. Nixon finished with 21 carries for 89 yards and 2 scores, and caught 7 passes for 66 yards. He had a long run of 13 yards. Nixon has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
5. Daniyel Ngata — The Arizona State transfer comes to the UW after three seasons in the desert. He played in 26 games for the Sun Devils, starting twice, including the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl. This 5-foot-10, 200-pound running back from Reno, Nevada, has career totals of 136 carries for 689 yards rushing and 6 scores, including one against the Huskies in October, and 14 catches for 98 yards. He has a long run of 29 yards. His brother Ariel played linebacker for the UW in 2017-2019 before transferring to Sacramento State and another brother, Joseph, played wide receiver for Clemson this past season. Daniyel Ngata has two seasons of eligibility left.
6. Sam Adams II — After two inactive UW seasons dealing with injuries, the once highly recruited Adams got a chance to play and appeared in 9 games. A big back at 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, he rushed 13 times for 40 yards and caught 5 passes for 35 yards and two scores for the Huskies. Adams, the son of a former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle and grandson of a former NFL offensive lineman, has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
7. Tybo Rogers — Kalen DeBoer's first UW football recruit hails from Bakersfield High School in that California city and comes off a shoulder injury that forced the multi-purpose back to sit out the final six games of his senior season. Over his high school career, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound back showed off his versatility in open space by rushing 164 times for 1,756 and 11 scores, and catching 61 passes for 1,118 yards and 13 scores. He had a long run of 92 yards. Rogers, whose Bakersfield coach was former UW tailback Rashaan Shehee, picked the Huskies over USC, UCLA, Oregon State, California, Arizona and others.
8. Aaron Dumas — He practiced but didn't appear in any games for the Huskies this past season, effectively redshirting, after leading New Mexico in rushing as a freshman. For the Lobos in 2021, the compact 5-foot-9, 208-pound back rushed 136 times for 658 yards and 2 scores, but he didn't catch a pass, which might be the reason he's been held back at the UW. A six-game starter, he had a long run of 63 yards. The El Paso, Texas, product has three seasons of eligibility left.
9. Jay'Veon Sunday — Another Texan, he's played three seasons at the UW, but has been buried on the depth chart. He appeared in just one game this past season and ran the ball once for a 19-yard gain against Colorado. A 6-foot, 203-pound back, he's played in five career games for the Huskies and carried the ball 9 times for 29 yards. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
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